1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to sunlight protecting devices, and more particularly to devices for screening dashboards from exposure to sunlight.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Sunshields for shielding the inside of a vehicle against sunlight have been known in the past. Typically such sunshields take the form of an opaque or reflective membrane which is deployed over the window opening, either on the inside or on the outside of a vehicle, in order to block sunlight transmission. In this form the shield is functional only when the vehicle is not used, and when the vehicle is driven the sunshield, of necessity, is removed. Quite often, however, vehicles ae driven over long distances in strong sunlight and as a result long periods of exposure occur in which sunlight directly impinges on various synthetic structures and particularly the surfaces of the dashboard. This prolonged exposure results in chemical changes in the polymer structure forming the dashboard with consequent permanent damage thereto. Thus a vehicle extensively used in sunlit climates will invariably inhibit cracks and deterioration of the resilient compounds forming the dashboard.
To limit such exposure various devices were provided in the past which in one way or another shield the synthetic polymers from prolonged exposure. Exemplary in the prior art are the shielding devices taught in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,560,245; 4,109,957 and Des. 237,663. While suitable for their purposes, the foregoing devices provide only a single use, i.e., shielding. In consequence, the shield becomes one additional item which the operator must attend and is thus either deferred to inattention or not used at all.
Along with the many articles carried in a motor vehicle are emergency signalling devices which appear with some frequency. Thus items like flares and reflecting signs are often found in the trunks of many motor cars. There is therefore some desire to multiply the functions of any devices carried in the car and it is such a functional multiplication that is disclosed herein.
In the past sunshields were occassionally imprinted with various messages, i.e., "get help", and thus some functional expansion has been carried out. Nonetheless, these prior art multiplied functions entail compromises. Thus, for example, the sunshield imprinted in the prior art with some emergency message is useful only when placed in the vehicle.
Roadside emergencies, on the other hand, often occur at locations where earlier warning is required. Thus, the emergency gear available on the marketplace often includes free-standing reflector signs and flares which may be placed at some distance from the vehicle. This particular feature is combined with some advantage in the present invention in accordance with the description following.